Mercuria Otobe
Nov 8, 2019 0:27:04 GMT -8
Post by teknoprophetic on Nov 8, 2019 0:27:04 GMT -8
 Mercuria Otobe |
| Info |
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Nickname: Merc Gender: Female Age: 17 Trainer Class: Courier Height: 5'7 Weight: 122 lbs. |
| Physical Attributes |
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{Hair Color & Style} Merc's hair is always "straightened," or at least as straight as she can get it. It flows down to her shoulders in fluffy, chestnut brown semi-curls and nestles around her ears, cheeks, and forehead. Stray curls shoot off in unpredictable directions, but it's all relatively tame when compared to her natural hair-- which has gotten her genuinely mistaken for a Tangela more than once in her life. Her natural hair is a wild, untamed mass of raw power and thick coils of hair that's better restrained than unleashed. I promise-- it's more for your safety than hers. {Eyes} Merc's eyes are wide and prominent, imbuing her with an air of youth and, humorously, urgency. Her gaze could be described as "cat-eyed"-- very cautious, leery, yet cute at the same time. Her irises are a vibrant jade color with flecks of a darker green here and there. They're known to visibly bright up when Merc is particularly passionate about the subject at hand. Inversely, they tend to go dull when she's zoning out or feeling down. Merc's eyebrows lend a lot to the air of childish alertness around her-- being thick, blunt, and angled in just the right way to make it look like she's either mildly peeved or especially feisty-- which honestly isn't far off from how she usually is. {Clothing & Accessories} The Fit™️ It's not easy to have a whole lot of clothes when travelling light, so Merc's wardrobe is more on the limited side of things at the moment. *The Cloak: A mainstay of Merc's outfits. She's had it for years at this point, and she'd be hard pressed to ever put it away after such a rich history. The cloak itself is pretty light and silky, with a faux pattern of branch and brush covering its exterior. It wraps around Merc comfortably without constricting her in the slightest. It extends just below her knees-- the perfect elevation to stop her from tripping all over the place, getting her cloak stuck on foliage, or looking like some sort of freak supervillain in public. In short, it's great for traversing the wilds of the forest and the suburban jungle all the same. *The Shirts: Merc has long outgrown the traditional floral shirts that her mom would make for her as a child, and finds herself wearing much less inspired graphic t-shirts most of the time. Most of them are for bands that she's never listened to in her life, with a few patterned shirts tossed in there as well. Her favorite t-shirt just has a big buttercup flower smacked on to the middle of it. All of these were bought recently-- at least, recently enough for Merc to not have outgrown any of them. They fit like a glove: comfy, perfect, and potentially uncomfortable if they happen to spontaneously shrink. *No Pants?: Yes pants, actually. Usually a red skirt and black leggings, but jeans are definitely in stock if the situation calls for them. Jean shorts are another option, but Merc prefers not to get her legs cut up when she's out and about. This has unintentionally resulted in a slow reverse effect, where her new and comfy leggings take the beating that her legs normally would and gradually become unusual, making her have to wear something else in their stead. It's truly saddening what's happening here, and we should all take a moment to pray for the survival of Merc's pants. *Shoes: The fabled socks and sandals combo comes into play here. The socks are variable: black ankle socks when the leggings are on, flower patterned kneesocks when she's wearing anything shorter. The sandals stay the same, as she's only got one pair of them on hand. They're cheap slides that are easy to put on and go, but are a little less than convenient in terrain rougher than a trimmed lawn. The pair she bought has a strange factory defect, leaving the left sandal half a size bigger than the other, and she just forgot to go return them to the store. Now she looks at the half size fiasco as a test of self discipline, where she has to watch her step or she consumes the entire pavement. *What if it's cold?: Well, honestly, Merc is out of luck if it gets colder. Since her journey begins on such short notice, she doesn't really have the time to think about buying a coat or anything of the sort, and she didn't bring one home with her. Any of her old ones wouldn't have fit, either. Let's hope she finds a fire-type sooner or later, lest she catch the nastiest cold known to man. {General Appearance} As of recent, Merc's impish aura has faded and become a bit dour, at least at a glance. Her skin has turned paler compared to its usual caramel brown, bags have formed under her eyes, and her hair's been messier than it usually is-- which is really saying something. A good way to describe her appearance would be "sleepless, as well as restless." Her wide-eyed, quirk-browed expression more closely resembles irritation than curiosity or concern now, and it wouldn't be unfair to read her default expression as a confused scowl. Despite the oppressive atmosphere around her, Merc keeps a very lax and unassuming posture, moving gracefully and handling everything she touches gently. She's still approachable, albeit in a "crotchety librarian" type of way. |
| Personal Information |
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Hometown  Kotoba City, East Godai {Personality} Mercuria's heart lies in her drive to improve. So much of her life has been based around the vague prospect of "progression" that in hindsight, it all seems a little nearsighted. It's just her nature to try and perfect everything she does, and when she's done doing that, find something else to complete. This partially manifests as her seeming conditionally selfless, dropping her own reservations to tend to someone else's free of charge-- just the fact that she gets to do something is enough for her. This might seem a little strange, or like she does things for her own satisfaction purely. While her own compulsive urge to work is a big motivator, she does see the merit in doing others' work as an act of kindness, even if she doesn't completely understand it. Her thought process on the matter is about as simple as it can be. Doing chores helps both parties, everyone's happy. She doesn't even particularly feel the need to be appreciated by others; she's likely to react to any neutral-positive response to her deeds the same way. Perhaps it's a result of her kind and pain-free upbringing, but Mercuria didn't turn out as emotionally intelligent as she is technically intelligent. Practical problems are nothing to her, but the moment negative or complex emotions become a factor, she shuts down. It's easy to kill her mood and make her stop responding just by bringing up something disheartening, since she never learned how to deal with anything like that. To say she's sensitive wouldn't be quite right, though. She's as resilient as they come, and nothing short of tragedy has ever stopped her for long. Merc is able to roll with the punches far past the point that others would give in and keep moving on until the weight of the challenge crushes her completely. This can be an admirable trait, for sure, but it can also be dangerous and unhealthy. One of her biggest points of self-embetterment is to learn when to give up, though she's ashamed to admit it. A good word to describe her overall would be "naïve." She's someone who knows everything about many niche facets of the world around her but nothing about the ones that matter, and this can be as endearing as it can be frustrating. Her curiosity can be reckless, and she's concerningly unafraid of consequences. This definitely links back to her unwillingness to give anything up once her mind's on it. When it comes to human relationships outside of her family, Merc sort of subconsciously sees things as a game of calculated risks. She's friendly to just about everyone she meets, but whether she thinks she's going to be friends with someone or not is practically decided the minute they meet. Keeping her circle small is important to Merc for irrational reasons not even she can pin down. If someone won't be around for long, if they WILL be around but won't see you much, if you'll never see them again... Maybe it's just easier to walk away as acquaintances and leave it at that. If anyone manages to make it past Merc's arbitrary list of requirements, though, it's certain that they'll stay friends for a long time. She's very good at playing off of others if they're also willing to make an effort, so she could theoretically have friends from all walks of life even if they don't have much in common. And it might just be better if they don't have anything in common-- Merc might have a little problem with not shutting up about mutual interests. Speaking of those interests, Merc's got a surprising amount of them for having done one or two things for the majority of her life. Contrary to how it may seem-- herbalism is not one of these interests, despite the fact that she knows an endless flood of knowledge on the topic. (She'll still talk about it, though.) Merc, over her stay in Vlostik, began to read and attempt to write all kinds of fantasy fiction, Now, here's an interest so important that it needs its own paragraph: Merc's love for exploration. Her endless curiosity has been talked about at length already, but this is where it really shines. Every new locale that Mercuria finds herself in imbues her with a new set of unique experiences, concepts, and ways to interact with the environment and its denizens. Clearly, this is a pretty exciting prospect for someone like Merc. Most of her dreams tend to be about branching out and exploring the roads of Godai, meeting new faces and finding new, wondrous places to explore until they can't be explored anymore. It was a blessing in disguise that Merc was an obedient kid, since if she was allowed to, she would have just spent the rest of her days running around Skytouch Forest with Hood and exhausting every square inch of unexplored territory until she was forced to move on to the next place. Alright, now that's enough on what she likes. What about her dislikes? Well, for one-- seeing the aftermath of human selfishness on the environment is pretty upsetting to her, though she's fascinated by it in a sense. She often thinks about what could motivate people to make objective wrongs willingly, but she never gets a straight answer out of it. Related to this in part, seeing people and Pokemon alike in danger is something she's especially passionate about. Taking someone else out of harm's way is her number one priority always, regardless of the risk. On a less dire note, though, let's talk about pet peeves. For one, cynical types get no mercy from Merc's mild ire. Those who hide behind irony, as well. Being genuine is a good trait in her eyes-- anything less isn't helping and just gets frustrating. People with unreasonable prejudices also tend to annoy her. Whether it be against a book or an entire group of people, sternly acting against something that isn't hurting anyone is just stupid and doesn't make any sense in her eyes. Disrespect in general seems to be the core of Merc's many problems with others, as she was raised by a community that held it above all else. She sees respect as the crux of socialization, and doesn't see why you'd even try if you're not willing to show respect to others. She really wishes she could communicate that last point to others sometimes, but she isn't the best at articulating her thoughts. When she's excited she tends to speak fast enough to start tripping over her words, and when she's feeling bad she just can't find her words. It's hard for people to really get the gist of what she's trying to put down unless they know how to interpret a whole ton of vague charades and "eh, eh?"s, not to forget the ever mysterious "you know..."s. History {I. Here's Where We Start} Mercuria's upbringing was an act of mutual passion between two people determined to continue their legacy. Mr. and Mrs. Otobe, much too old to raise a child anywhere except their hometown of Kotoba, finally brought their protégé to light on May 13th, 185. Merc was a rowdy kid, so it took her a few years to grow into her old parents' way of life: initially peaceful, with every day planned out to a T, but with enough spontaneity to throw everything off track. The Otobes believed that change was the spice of life; the more unexpected, the more welcome. Mrs. Otobe was a born herbalist, and Mr. Otobe was a hunter turned herbalist. Both of them were passionate about their crafts and eagerly funneled this passion into their daughter's upbringing. Mercuria, even before she was in the double digits, was a skillful herbalist. Most said that it was no surprise, given her talented background, but Mercuria began to think that she inherited more heart than talent from her folks. Growing up, her own passion was nearly limitless. Whatever challenge made its way in front of her was good as done, and she kept up this streak for years. Mercuria became a sort of errand girl for her community through force of will alone. Adults were skeptical, letting a little girl handle their chores and all, but the girl proved herself useful. When no one else wanted to trudge through the woods on either side of the city, Merc was excited to get her shoes dirty. One fateful day, at the age of ten, Merc found herself facing down a truly perilous encounter on one of her trips- two mildly aggravated Pidove and a bloodthirsty Wurmple with a propensity for anklebiting. With no one to come to her aid, the girl flailed around and screeched at the top of her lungs until a daring (and annoyed) Treecko came out of the woodwork to save her. The two banded together for the rest of the delivery and found that they couldn't part ways after it was over. The Treecko-- Hood, as Merc called him, became a sort of family pet. He helped gather herbs and hunted with Merc, so he was a welcome addition as far as the older Otobes cared. At twelve, like most children, Mercuria finished her primary schooling. A girl as bright and passionate as her was only expected to finish secondary school as well, and she was given a reason to when she was offered an apprenticeship by Hide, a distant cousin in Vlostik who also carried the mystic-herbalist wisdom of the Otobes. After a tearful goodbye to everyone she ever knew, Mercuria departed for Vlostik. {II. Here's Where We're Going} Everything was going right. Merc was excelling in school and with her apprenticeship. It didn't take her long to make friends in Vlostik, though she never got particularly close with any of them since she knew she'd be moving back home in a few years' time. She thought about home a lot during her stay in the west-- how proud everyone would be when she got back, how big Hood had grown, how exciting it would be to pick up her parents' business and finally continue the legacy-- but she didn't let it distract her. The foes in her path were her studies, and the treasure at the end of the dungeon was just about everything good in the world. That was her mantra, and nothing could take her down. Well, years passed. Mercuria became accustomed to life in the sticks and her daily routine. She still thought of home, less frequently than before. Usually, there wasn't enough time in the schedule to stop and daydream like before. Classes got harder, work got harder, everything just got so hard. It's not like Merc was planning on giving up after all this time, though. Thoughts of her family kept her chugging, all the way to the final stretch of her last year. Hide delivered the news after work one day: Mercuria wouldn't be seeing her dad when she went home. He passed away just a few months before she could return. Not only was she broken by this sudden development, it started to plant seeds of doubt and anxiety about going home in the back of Merc's mind. Maybe she was stupid to think everything would be perfect after all this time-- a dumb optimistic kid who couldn't grow out of her delusions until reality came crashing down on her. She began to resent her old ways, growing bitter and depressed with no drive. Very much unlike herself, she lashed out at minor slights and generally acted without thinking for days before she decided it would be safer for herself and others if she just stopped acting on the whole. Merc shut the world out from within, not saying a word or showing any particular emotion outwardly. She stayed this way for days, and then weeks. She grew apart from her “friends” at school and eventually stopped working for Hide, who didn’t have the heart to try and force her after what she’d been through. The final weeks of school were upon Mercuria, and then… she disappeared. Necrotic holes began to bore themselves through Merc’s otherwise spotless attendance record as she resigned from the outside world completely. Countless hours were spent alone in Mercuria’s room, with books and endless internet searches on “what happens after you die” clogging up the girl’s mind, conscious and unconscious. She frequently wondered how her dad felt in his final moments— how it was to go limp, stop breathing, and fade into nothingness. Though it was morbid, finding answers was the only solace that she could find to cling on to and solve. This “research” was interspersed with long, existential arguments with herself about if there was even a point in looking for answers or, occasionally, continuing to live if no matter what she did, everything would ultimately lead to the same dead end. It was hard to turn her attention to Hood and her mother for even a second, because her thoughts would quickly lead to their hypothetical demise, something that Mercuria regretted merely imagining so much that she felt like throwing up every time it crossed her mind. In the end, it was all a waste of time. No answer that Merc found satisfied her, so she eventually just gave up. Resigning to the bleak reality that death was something that couldn’t be solved wasn’t easy, but it was the only possible answer that would keep her from losing her mind. She tried to stay strong, keeping emphasis off of the death part of life and focusing on, well, everything other than that. If she could save a life, or honor one that ended, she would be doing her part in lifting the burden of death off of the shoulders of the world. Whether it be through her medicine or an insane coincidence, a spark of resolve to better the lives of others began to form. This tiny spark became Mercuria’s hope. As it formed, its benevolent glow shone on the shadows of Mercuria’s doubt and dispelled them, leaving her optimistic that everything would turn out fine once more. {III. Where Did We End Up?} Home is where the heart was. Upon arriving there, Mercuria was surprised to find that it was nothing like she remembered. On top of the new, modern buildings and commercialized atmosphere, not even the people were the same. A lot of the older folks ended up like Mr. Otobe and the younger ones moved on to greener pastures. Merc found out that her mother was in the local hospital without much longer to go on, despite her own and the rest of the community's efforts. It was hard for Merc to see her own mother like that, but she choked back her tears and asked the old lady if there was anything that she could do to make things easier on her. As Merc sat next to her mother in the hospital, the old lady imparted important information on to her daughter. She told Merc of a mahogany box in their old closet, full of letters that Mr. Otobe had been writing for decades. The recipients: everyone that he had crossed paths with and had unfinished business with. Mrs. Otobe told Mercuria that, while she had nothing that she regretted, her late husband's life was full of loose ends. To put her at ease before she passed, she asked Merc to tie up all of her father's threads. Merc agreed, motivated to honor her parents and learn more about her father in the process, and returned to the family home for the first time in years. Merc and Hood reconnected, but the whole affair was quite different than either of them expected it to be. It was silent, uncomfortable, and quick, due in no small part to the two's shattered expectations about the moment. Merc briefed her partner on the letters, prepared a bag of supplies, and asked the Treecko if he was willing to come with her. It wasn't much of a question, frankly. Merc's parents were Hood's parents, and he was just as determined to honor them as Mercuria was. So, with the letters in tow, Merc and Hood resolved to run one last errand together. {Merc's Relationships: Expanded} It's always important to keep track of people you run into. Merc's major relationships will be recorded here and updated anytime something important happens! Akiha Otobe, or Mrs. Otobe, is Mercuria's mother. Her relationship with Merc is about as good as it could be, with both of them having a massive mutual love and respect for each other. Mrs. Otobe taught Merc most of what she knows, which practically owed her a huge fraction of her daughter's respect. Despite her age, she's full of a youthful vigor that allowed her to really connect with her daughter and teach her how to stay on top of things. She was the parent who would scold Mercuria given that she got into trouble, and she always did it in a way that was just stern enough for Merc to get the message without it coming across as cruel. Akiha vows that she could never live without her daughter, and Mercuria can't feel any other way about her. Dien Otobe, or Mr. Otobe, was Mercuria's father. Merc always regarded him as the fun parent, but looking back on it she didn't really know much about him before he died. He was a mysterious man with a sense of humor and a childlike vigor similar to his wife. Merc remembers her hunting trips with Mr. Otobe fondly. One of her biggest motivators for taking the trek around Godai is the promise of learning more about her old man through the people he's affected. Hide and Merc never had much of a relationship beyond work, but they'd occasionally spend moments away from the daily grind together. Hide in general is a man of few words, so there wasn't too much banter to be had. Merc would make a joke and he'd chuckle sometimes, but that was the peak of their social relationship. Merc's relationship with Hood was childish and playful. The two loved to mess around, especially on the job, and they got themselves into heaps of trouble with the local wildlife because of this. Hood managed to be snarky in his own wordless, lizardy way that Merc couldn't help but play off of. They were the best of friends back then, but it seems like some distance has crept between them in the five years they've been apart. Only time will tell if they can go back to how they used to be. |
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Dians:  1,000{Items}  5x Pokéball{Key Items}  PokéDex Journal Holocaster |
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{TMs and HMs}
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| Trainer Advancement |
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Advancement Points: 0 {Tier 0} Seeing the Sights: (0/15) Making Friends: (0/15) Green Thumb: (0/15) To Be The Best: (0/15) Silver Tongue: (0/15) Nursing: (0/15) Gift Giving: (0/20) Parental Instincts: (0/20) Genetic Key: (0/20) TLC: (0/25) Technology Buff: (0/25) Oooh Shiny: (0/30) |
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Total EXP Gained: 0 {Treecko - Hood}
{PC Box: Stored Pokemon}(NONE) |
Journal
Merc said:
No adventures yet!
